Rutgers Softball Has Five Named NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes
Oct 21 | Softball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (October 21, 2011) – The Rutgers softball team had five players earn recognition for their hard work and dedication in the classroom during the 2010-11 school year by being named National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America Scholar-Athletes.
Mickenzie Alden (Spokane, Wash.), Mandy Craig (Manassas, Va.), Kaci Madden (Sarasota Springs, N.Y.), Noelle Sisco (Towaco, N.J.), and Megan Williams (Richmond, Va.) were all honored by the NFCA for accumulating a 3.5 GPA or higher during the 2010-11 academic year.
“These five young ladies epitomize the best qualities of a student-athlete,” head coach Jay Nelson said. “Their examples prove that you can excel both on the field and in the classroom. Each one of these women played a vital role in building a team that has been to two-consecutive conference tournaments.”
Craig, a four-year starter at first base and All-BIG EAST Second Team honoree is now a research technician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Even after her graduation last spring, former team captain Alden is still helping the Scarlet Knights softball team as a manager while she completes her master’s degree in education.
Williams’ educational endeavors include majoring in evolutionary anthropology, while on the softball field she earned BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll awards for her pitching performances for the weeks of March 14th and April 14th. Madden is excelling in bio-medical engineering, in addition to shining behind the plate as one of the best receivers in the conference. Sisco is part of a pitching staff that is looking to lead Rutgers softball to its third-consecutive BIG EAST Tournament appearance for the first time in program history.
“Collectively, with the aid of their teammates, they have changed the face of Rutgers softball to reflect an intense competitive spirit in the classroom and on the softball field,” Nelson said. “With athletes such as these five young ladies, the Scarlet Knight softball team has a bright future ahead.”
As a team, the Scarlet Knights were one of 133 institutions acknowledged as NFCA All-Academic Teams, by posting a GPA higher than 2.9. In August, the program also placed 13 of its 18 members on the 2010-11 BIG EAST Academic All-Star squad.
RU softball is coming off back-to-back trips to the BIG EAST Championships for the first time in 13 years. The 2011 lineup finished the campaign ranked in the top-seven percent nationally in Division I in stolen bases per game, the top-13 percent in runs scored per game – behind only one league opponent, Syracuse – and the top-15 percent in batting average.
